Message of sympathy and support for Cologne Archives
On the afternoon of Tuesday 3 March, the building of the Historic Archive of the city of Cologne in Germany collapsed along with two neighboring buildings. According to news reports, rescue workers are searching for people believed to be missing after the collapse. The building dated from the 1970s and contained some 65,000 original charters as well as valuable collections of maps, images, posters and files.
ICA expresses its profound sympathy and support for all those at the Historic Archive of the city of Cologne following this tragic incident. ICA has a deep concern about disaster recovery and prevention management, especially for the well-being of archive staff and researchers, and is addressing this important issue through the Programme, and through existing and future partnerships.
News reports on the incident are available on the web. A selection are included below:
In English:- http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/03/03/germany.cologne.building.collapse/index.html
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7921988.stm